Makueni County Government intends to increase agricultural production through climate-smart practices and provision of modern inputs and offering extension services to farmers, area Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr has said.
Consequently, Mutula speaking said that the government would ensure farmers have better market linkages and stronger SACCO structures to guarantee them to earn maximum benefits from their farm produce.
The Governor further encouraged farmers to join cooperatives so that they would have a bargaining power that would enable them to pool resources and work together to avoid the middlemen who exploit them.
“At the core of our agricultural strategy is the empowerment of our farmers through cooperative structures. By working together, our farmers will no longer rely on middlemen who exploit them with low prices. Instead, they will have the power to directly reach buyers and ensure they get fair share of value of what they create,” said Mutula at the Agriculture Training College (ATC) Kwa Kathoka on Wednesday.
“This is our collective journey towards agricultural transformation and community empowerment for enhanced food security and livelihoods in the county,” he said.
He was speaking during the launch of 30 Ward Level Community Driven Committees (CDDCs) and SACCOs for National Agricultural Value Chain Development (NAVCD) Project Implementation in Makueni County.
During the launch, 9 SACCOs were each given Sh1 million grant to help in recruiting more members especially at the ward level so that farmers could invest in them and have a bargaining power.
In this regard, the Governor challenged the local subsistence farmers to register themselves in a cooperative society so that they could access loans and avoid the unscrupulous people.
He disclosed that NAVCD is a World Bank five-year funded project that would target five value chains in the county namely poultry, dairy, mango, tomato and apiary to generate immense economic value for the people.
“For instance, we have seen our mango farmers producing high-quality fruit acceptable in the international market, yet they still struggle to access reliable markets and fair prices. The same is true for our poultry keepers, horticulture farmers and others,” added Mutula.
Speaking at the same function, Department of Agriculture Executive Committee Member (ECM) Joyce Mutua said she would supervise the SACCOs closely so that they would be attractive to more farmers in the county.
At the same time, Mutua disclosed that many farmers in the county do not have bank accounts hence her department was in the process of ensuring farmers had accounts so they could access loans from financial institutions.
By Patrick Nyakundi
